Tuesday, October 17, 2006 Gwen, Tom to collide By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
EVEN as Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña insisted on his power to appoint members of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia initiated moves to wrest such power from him.
Using a provision of Presidential Decree 198, the governor wrote to the MCWD corporate secretary yesterday directing her to submit the names of nominees for the two board positions that will be vacated by the end of this year.
The move was made even as Osmeña, in a press conference earlier in the day, said that while he is amenable to appointing non-Cebu City residents to the MCWD Board, he said he will remain the appointing authority, and not the governor.
However, the mayor is in favor of amending the law that created the MCWD so the proviso on the appointing authority can be changed.
Garcia cited in her letter Section 3(b) of Presidential Decree 198 or the “Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973” which governs the operation of MCWD and the basis of her stand on the issue of who between her and Osmeña has the power to appoint members of the board.
Section 3(b) states that the “person empowered to appoint the members of the board of directors of a local water district depends on the geographic coverage and population make-up of the particular district.
In the event that “more than 75 percent of the total active water service connections are within the boundary of a city, the appointing authority shall be the mayor of that city or municipality, otherwise the appointing authority shall be the governor of the province within which the water district is located.”
Based on the report submitted by the MCWD corporate planning department, as of Aug. 26, 2006, the water service connections within Cebu City is below 75 percent of its total service connections.
MCWD service in Cebu City only covers 63.06 percent based on actual connections and 61.28 percent based on the number of households in a subdivision/condominium—which are bulk metered—and communal faucets—which are considered as one service connection.
Duty
With these numbers, Garcia believes she is the one empowered to appoint the members of the board of directors of MCWD.
“It would be a dereliction of duty on my part if I would skirt the issue and not exercise my man-date…….Tommy (Osme-ña)and I can agree to disagree on this, but we can disagree without being disagreeable,” Garcia said.
When asked what she will do if her letter will go unheeded, the governor opted not to comment.
Politics may be behind some officials’ call for Garcia to assert her appointing power, but Osmeña still believes it is unconstitutional for the governor to take over the MCWD Board.
The mayor agreed with officials of other local government units in Metro Cebu of the need for their localities to be represented in the water district.
Letter
In a letter to the governor, Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano, Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, Compostela Mayor Antonio Dangoy, Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob Sr., Lapu-Lapu City Vice Mayor Norma Patalinghug, Cordova Vice Mayor Danilo Sinugbuhan, Liloan Vice Mayor Merilito Surita, Lapu-Lapu City Councilor Eugene Espedido and Cordova Councilor Greg Jumao-as asked Garcia to assert her appointing power in the water district.
They pointed out that that the number of MCWD consumers in Cebu City now comprises less than 75 percent of its total number of clients.
“(As far as the appointing authority is concerned), she has no authority although the law needs to be amended to straighten some things out… The matter is in court but our position is very clear, we’re no longer under the governor,” Osmeña said.
Even if MCWD clients from Cebu City make up only 64 percent of the total number of MCWD consumers, the number is still the majority, he said.
The mayor further said that the governor cannot exercise her power over that majority who are in Cebu City, since it is no longer under the Province’s jurisdiction.
“The law was approved when the city was still under the Province but we’re now an independent city. It’s unconstitutional for the governor to have powers over another local government unit that’s not under her jurisdiction because the Constitution mandates local autonomy,” Osmeña said.
Below 75 percent
Although the board acknowledged that its clients in Cebu City have fallen below 75 percent of the total number of clients, MCWD Board Chairman Juan Saul Montecillo will not say yet to whom the appointing power rightfully belongs.
Montecillo said in a phone interview that the board has yet to discuss and come up with their stand on the matter.
For his part, board vice chairman Joy Augustus Young said they will continue to serve the whole franchise area equally regardless of who the appointing authority is.
“Personally, I think it’s not an issue who appoints the board members. I don’t want to argue as a board member and I think this is better left to the court to decide on,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
He further said that barely two years in their posts, the MCWD board has inaugurated three wells in Mandaue City under his and Montecillo’s vice chairmanship and chairmanship, respectively.
Both Montecillo and Young are appointees of Osmeña.
Mayor’s authority
“By raising this issue against the mayor’s appointing authority, it’s like accusing the board that we’re not doing our job in the franchise area outside Cebu City. It’s like saying that since we’re from Cebu City, we think only of the city, which is not true,” Young continued.
In a news conference yesterday, the mayor said he is considering at least two individuals as possible appointees to the MCWD board this December.
One of them is lawyer Chito Teleron, a resident of Talisay City who was recommended by the Integrated Bard of the Philippines (IBP) Cebu City Chapter.
He is also considering Leo Pacana, a retired mechanical engineer who has handled projects in the United States. Pacana was recommended by the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the mayor said.
